Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, raised Jackie and her four other children on her own. They were the only black family on their block, and therefore encountered a great deal of racial prejudices. For a man coming from a poor family of sharecroppers, his beginning, would help him become the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier that segregated major league baseball for many decades.

Robinson excelled early at all sports and learned to make his own way in life.

In the early 1800s, American's began playing baseball on informal teams with local rules. Because of baseball's popularity, it was often described as America's "national pastime." The rules and teams of baseball became official by the late 1800s. The first official team with salaries was the Cincinnati Red Stockings. During the early 1900s, blacks were not allowed to play on white professional teams. Some baseball owners tried to hire blacks by calling them Hispanic or Indian. Some interracial games occurred when major league white teams played black teams in barnstorming games.(Williams 108)

African Americans played baseball throughout the 1800s. The Negro Leagues began in the late 1920s. The St. Louis Black Stockings, and the Cuban Giants were the first all black pro baseball team formed. In the winter, many blacks played baseball in other countries because segregation did not exist. The black players would travel back the United States in the summer to play in the Negro Leagues. Segregation in baseball came to an end in 1945. Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, concluded that segregation in major league baseball was morally wrong; he also realized that it was politically indefensible in New Yo